Electric signal system.



PATENTED SEPT. 1, 1908.

A. A. BARBERA.

ELECTRIC SIGNAL SYSTEM. APPLICATION FILED rI;1=s.28,1908.A

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W/TNESSES PATENTED SEPT. l, 1908. A. A. BARBERA. ELECTRIC SIGNAL SYS-TEM.

APPLICATIONA FILED FEB. 28, 1908.

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lUNITED A'Si DATES PATENT ANTHONY A. BARBERA, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA..

ELnc'rnIc SIGNAL SYSTEM.

i Specicationof Letters Patent.

Patented sept. 1, 190e.

Application mee February 28, 190s. Serin Nn'. 418,220.

To all whom fit may concern:

Be it known that I, ANTHONY A. BARBERA', a citizen ofthe United States, and 'a resident of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia" and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Electric SignalSystem,

of which the following is a full, clear, andk exact description.

My .'nvention yrelates to electric signal systems, my more particular object being to produce such a system under the immediate control of a towerman and used 4in connection with a movable sema hore arm for indicat-` ing Ato the engineer o a moving locomotive the position of the semaphore arm, by flashing appropriate lamps or energizing an appro rlate alarm in the cab of a locomotive.

y invention further relatesv to means whereby, in case the semaphore arm is disabled, the towerman may transmit to the engineer appropriate signals equivalent to those Whic would be transmitted to him if the semaphore arm were in proper'working order.

My invention relates still further to means whereby the electrical connections may be tested by the towerman' in order to ascertain their condition.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying 'drawings forming a part of `this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 1s a diagram of the Wiring used,

this wiring extending from the semaphore arm tothe tower-house, and also to" certain contact rails which are brought, by movements of the locomotive, into electrical communication with the wiring used uponv said locomotive; Fig. 2 is a section, partly diaammatic, showing the location of colored amps and an auditory alarm, all`carried by the cab and energized electrically by'appro'-y priate contact mechanism partly under control of movements of the locomotive; and Fig. k3 is 4a fragmentary section showing the movable semaphore arm and Jthe contact mechanism controllable by it, for theA purpose of completing and breaking certain electric circuits controlling the lamps and other alarm members used. in the tower-house and locomotive cab.

Mounted upon a post 4 is a semaphore arm 5 adapted, as is usual with semaphore arms, t0 turn within certain limits. lhis arm is mounted rigidly upon a stub shaft 6l extending directly through thc post fl and into a casing 7 disposed upon the side thereof oppo site the semaphore arm 5. A disk 8 of insulating material, preferably liber, is mounted within the casing 7 and thus protected from the weather. Sunken within the disk 8 are stationary contact members 9, 10, 11, 12, allv of arcuate form, the contact member 9 being considerably longer than the contact members 10, 11, l2. Acontactiinger 8a is mounted rigidly u on the stub shaft 6 and turns therewith W enever the semaphore arm 5 is turned. One end of the contact 'linger 8*EL always rests upon the contact member 9, and the other end of the contact finger may cngage any one of the contact members 10, 11, 12, though it normally rests upon the 'con-` tact member 10. The contact finger 8a is made of spring metalfso as to malte a firm engagement with the contact members.

Connected with the contact members 10,

11, 12 are wires 13, 14, 15, these latter being connected with wires 16, 17, 18.` Short wires 19, 20, 21 are connected with the wires 16, 17, 18, and with lamps 22, 23, 24e. These lamps are of different colors, the lam i being white, 23 being een and 2d being red. Connected also with these lamps are short wires 25, 26, 27, these wires being connected by wires 28, 29 with acontact button 30 of a switch 31, which is 'connected by a 'wire' 32' with a battery 33. Connected with the wires I6, 17 and.18 are short wires 34, 35, 36, yleading respectively to contact buttons 37, 38, 39, which are provided for a switch 40,. AThis switch is connected by wires ll1, 4111 with the battery 33. A wire 42 is connected with the wires 41, 41 andflads to the contact member 9 of the disk 8.

A switch tower is shown at L13 and is occupied. by the operator, who controls practically the entire system. At 4A is shown the eab of a traveling locomotive. Carried by the locomotive are a white lamp 45, a green lamp 116, 'a red lamp 47 and a bupzer 48 or other auditory alarm. Wires 49, 5() connect this member with the red lamp 47.' Wires 51, 52,' 53 are connected respectively with the lamps L17 46, 45. Vires 55, `56aiie connected by a wire 57 with the green lamp 46. A wire 58 connects the red lamp 47 with the wires 49, 62. Contact shoes 59, 60, 61 carried by the loco motive are connected respectively with they wires 51, 52, 53, and disposed partially with- `warning commonly known as dangcr.

in the path of these shoes are stationary contact rails 62, 63, 64. Another rail 65 is disposed partially within the path of a contact shoe 63a carried by the locomotive, and this shoe is connected by a wire 62*l with the wires 49, 55, 58. A wire 66 connectsthe contact rail 65 with the contact button 30.

The semaphore arm 5 normally hangs ver.- tically downward, as indicated in Fig. 1. It may be raised to different angles, however, and as is usual in semaphore arms, adapted to assume positions indicating safety, caution and danger, these three positions being represented by the three colors of the lamps and by the three contact members 10, 11, 12.

The operation of my device is as follows: We will assume that all of the parts are in their normal positions. and that a locomotive is approaching. The arm 5 hangs vertically downward, as above explained. The switch 40 is open; and the switch 31 is closed. The battery circuit is open. When, however, the locomotive reaches such position that the contact shoes 61, 60, 59, 63 engage respectively the contactrails 64, 63, 62, 65, a circuitI is completed as follows: battery 33, wire 41a, wire 42, contact member 9, contact finger 8a, contact member 10, wire 13, from whence the current divides, a portion passing through wire 16, wire 19, white lamp 22, wire 25, wire 29, contact button 30, switch 31, and wirev 32 back to battery 33. Another portion of lthe current from the wire 16 pursues the following path, to wit: contact rail 64, contact shoe 61, wire 53, white lamp 45 in locomotive cab, wire 56, wire 55, wire 62, contact shoe 63, contact rail 65, wire 66, contact button 30, switch 31 and wire 32 back to battery 33. In other words, from the wire 16 two portions of the current pass in parallel through the lamps `45 and 22, causing them to li fht up and apprise the towerman that the ocomotive is coming, as well asapprising the engineer `that he is approaching the tower. Suppose, however, that the, parts are in normal position, as above described, and that the towerman wishes to give to the locomotive engineer tric o do this the towerman, -in any appropriate manner, turns the semaphore-arm 5 so that the contact-finger 3 engages the contact member 12, aswell as the contact member 9. The locomotive having arrived at the point where its contact shoe can engage the contact rails, as above described, the following circuits are completed: battery 33, wire 41, wire 42, contact member 9, contact finger 8a, Contact member 12 to wire 15, thence the current divides, a portion passingthrough wires 18, 21, red lamp 24, wires 27, 28, 29, contact buttn 30, switch 31 and wire 32 to battery 33. Another portion of this current passes from the wire 15 to co1'1tact-rail 62, contact shoe 59, wire 51, red lamp 47, wire wire 52, green lam 58, wire 55, wire 62contact shoe 63corie tact rail 65, 'wire 66, contact button 30, switch 31, wire 32 to battery 33.

From the wires 5,1, 62a a shunt Acircuit is at the same time completed through the buzzer 48, so that the buzzer sounds wheneverthe red lamps 24, 47 are thus energized. If, however, the sema here-arm 5 be moved only so far upwardt at the contact finger 8a reaches from contact member 9 to contact member 11, the following circuits are completed: battery 33, wire 41, wire 42, contact member 9, contact finger 8", contact member 11, to wire 14; thence the current. divides, a portion passing through wire 17, wire 20, green lamp 23, wires 26, 28, 29, contact button 30, switch 31, wire 32 to battery 33; another portion of the current passing from the wire 14 Ato contact rail 63, contact shoe 60, wire 52, green lamp 46 Iof locomotive, wires 57 55, wire 62a, contact shoe 63, contact rail 65, wire 66, contact b'utton 30, switch 31, wire 32 back to battery 33. circuit does not energize the buzzer 48. It will thus be noted that the positionof the semaphore-arm 5 causes the simultaneous lighting of two lamps, one in the tower and one within the locomotive cab,v the color of the lights thus made indicating both to the operator in the tower and the engineer in the locomotive cab the position of the sema phore-arm 5. Suppose, however, that for any reasonthe semaphore-arm 5 `is out of order and can not be relied upon to control the signals. The operator, by aid of the switch 40, can complete circuits through the lamps.

This

For instance, by turningl the switch-arm 40 into engagement with the contact button 37 the following circuit is completed: battery 33, wire 41a, wire 41, switch arm 40, contact button 37, wire 34, wire,19, white lamp 22, wire 25, wire 29, contact button 3, switch arm 31, wire 32 to battery 33. Thiscircuit lights the lamp 22. A portion of the current, however, upon arrivin at the wire 34, instead of passing upward y into wire .19 passes into wire 16, rail '64, contact shoe 61, wire 53,-white lamp 45, `wire 56, wire 55, wire 62, contact shoe 63, contact rail 65, wire 66, switch arm 31, and wire 32 back to battery 33. The lamp 45 in the locomotive cab is thus lighted.

The switchearm 40 being turned into engagement with thepontact button 38, the folowing circuit is completed: battery 33, wire 41", wire 41, switch arm 40, contact member 38, wires 35, 20, green lainp 23, wires 26, 28, 29, contact button 30, switch arm 31, Wire 32 back to battery'33. This lights the green lamp 23. A portion of the current, however', upon arriving at the wire 35 in the circuit just traced, pursues the 'following path; wire 17, contact rail 63, contact shoe 60,-`

46,` wire 57, wire`55, wire 62L (so as to lig t the green. lamp), contact shoe 63, contact rail 65, wire 66, contact button 30, contact arm 31 and wire 32 back to battery 33. The engineer can now see that he must proceed cautiously.

Suppose, next, that the operator in the tower turns the switch arm 40 into en agement with contact button 39. The fo lowing circuit is thus com leted: battery 33, wire 41, wire 41, switc arm 40, contact member 39, wire 36, wire 21, red lamp 24, wires 27, 28, 29, contact button 30, switch arm 31; wire 32 to battery 33, this circuit thus lighting the red lamp 24. A portion of the current, however u on arriving at the wire 36 in the circuit above traced, asses through the wire 18 to contact rail 62, t ence to contact shoe 59, wire 51, red lamp 47, wire 58, wire 62, contact shoe 63a, contact rail 65, wire 66, contact member 30,-contact"' arm 31, wire 32, to battery 33, this portion of the current lighting the red light 47. A portion of the current in the circuit just traced, upon arriving at the wire 51, is diverted through a shunt consisting of wire 50,.

buzzer 48 and Wire 49 to wire 62, thus energizing the buzzer and thoroughly arousing the engineer.

From the above it may be seen that the system may be operated either automatically, in the sense that the signals are controlled by the position of the semaphore-arm 5, or hand-controlled, in the sense that the signals are under control of the switch-arm 40. In order to throw the entire system out of action, the switch-arm 31 is moved to the right.

I do not limit myself to the articular arrangement of the contact rais and shoes above described, nor to the precise wiring shown, nor to the use of .any particular materials in the construction and operation of the system.

Having thus 'described my invention, I

claim as` new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:`

1. The combination of a semaphore arm, contact mechanism controllable by move'- ments thereof, a plurality of separate wires connected with said contact mechanism, a plurality of alarm members mounted within a tower-house and connected with said wires so as to be energized by movements of said semaphore arm, a pluralit of alarms carried by a locomotive, and e ectricV mechanism controllable by movements of saidlocomotive for connecting said alarm members carried by said locomotive with said wire leading to said contact mechanism and for disconnecting the same therefrom.

2. The combination of a semaphore arm, contact mechanism actuated by movements of the same, wires connected with said con-` tact mechanism, alarm mechanism mounted u on a movable locomotive, wires disposed a jacent to the track and adapted to be automatically connected with said alarm mechanism upon said locomotive, other alarm mechanism located in the tower-house, wires connected with said last-mentioned alarm mechanism, said wires' adjacent to said track and said wires leading to said tower-house, being connected each in multiple with one of said wires connected with said contact--y mechanism, and a source of electricity for energizing all of said wires.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification -in the two subscribing witnesses.

ANTHONY A. BARBERA.

Witnesses:

CARL G. J. LANGEFELD,

JOSEPH H. BARBERA.

presence of Y 

